This is the first book by Alison James that I’ve read. I was hooked quickly by the story and wanting to figure out what exactly was happening. I’m excited to read more of Alison James’ books soon. I recommend this book for someone who enjoys a mystery novel.

The blurb is definitely intriguing and one I wanted to find out more about. It started off a bit of a slow burn but after the initial ‘meet and greet’ it soon ramped up the pace along with the storyline. Really interesting plot that definitely keeps you on your toes. Told from the perspective of 3 of the main characters and each one gives a different insight to all the goings on. Some really likeable and some not so likeable characters along with your unsavoury ones thrown in. If you like neighbour gossip, infidelity and crime this is the read for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read #TheNewCouple

With a perfect marriage - not...the perfect couple - not...the perfect house. Well, one out of three is correct. Stephanie Hamlin, husband Richard and baby Poppy are about to move into a beautifully renovated house in an exclusive neighborhood. The thing is, Stephanie and Richard are not married. And Poppy is not there little girl. The manner in which this fabricated family move into the house is the mystery that goes from bad to worse in this latest book by Alison James.

Stephanie and Richard are trying settle into the new house in a low key manner. However, they have a welcoming new neighbor named Jane Headley. Stephanie is not so appreciative of Jane noticing that they have moved in and is more than a bit rude. Therefore, Jane is then rather surprised when Stephanie ends up knocking on her door and all but pushes Poppy into her arms and asks her to babysit. Jane agrees, and ends up watching the baby a few times, but she still does not see much of Richard.

As the story progresses, the nefarious nature behind Stephanie and Richard's activities begins to come clear. The story is full of intrigue as Stephanie, Richard and his brother create a plan, begin to follow through with it, all while not caring about any consequences that might face them.

In this book, while Jane's suspicions grow by leaps and bounds, she pushes and pushes in order to figure things out. Meanwhile, the other characters who are not who they portend to be continue on an irreversible past. Kudos to Alison James for writing such a different story with difficult characters, lots of twists, even pacing, devastating secrets and a satisfying read. Definitely another winner for me.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

| About |

The perfect marriage. The perfect house. The perfect secret…

As I step through the cherry-red door of my new home, I know I should feel like the luckiest woman alive. I have a handsome husband, a beautiful daughter and now the house of my dreams. And to everyone else my life looks perfect…

When the neighbours stop by to welcome us, I tell them my name is Stephanie Hamlin and, under the watchful gaze of my husband Richard, I introduce him and our curly haired little girl Poppy. I smile as wide as I can and desperately hope I can fit in to this exclusive place with its pretty communal gardens. Because I’ve risked everything to be here.

Behind closed doors I try to relax, to unwind in the huge clawfoot bath and forget about my complicated past. It’s hard being the new couple on the street when you’ve got secrets.

Because the truth is, my charming husband isn’t really my husband.

And I’m not Stephanie Hamlin…


| Thoughts |

Nosey neighbors next level. Really enjoyed the twists. I was a little confused at first but by the end it all made sense. Suspense filled mystery. Love how it all unfolded and the story just kept getting deeper. The setting was perfection. It was a rush right up until the end.

I had such high hopes for this book and it started off so well. Unfortunately halfway through it seemed to dip and started to drag. The ending didn’t surprise me much. Such a shame as it seemed to be a good story. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book, plenty of secrets, suspense and thrills. a recommended read.

A compulsive read with strong characterization. I liked that the story was told from several of the character's perspectives. I usually find this confusing but in this case, it was well defined.

It took awhile to finish because I was so busy with summer activities. Once I started, the story hooked me completely. The story is told from three different characters perspective. Each character adds tidbits to this tale. New neighbors have just moved into a posh neighborhood but something is off. They are not the typical people you would see moving in.What ensues is crazy.
Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read and give feedback on this ARC.

Ohhhh a different take on the domestic thriller genre. A new couple moves in to a prestigious street in South London after winning a house through a lottery., but things aren’t what they seem. Told through the eyes of four different characters thrown into a house of cards poised to fall down.

3.5 stars rounded up

As I step through the cherry-red door of my new home, I know I should feel like the luckiest woman alive. I have a handsome husband, a beautiful daughter and now the house of my dreams. And to everyone else my life looks perfect.... when the neighbours drop by to welcome us, I tell them my name s Stephanie Hamlin and, under the watchful gaze of my husband Richard, I introduce our curly haired little girl, Poppy. I smile as wide as I can and desperately hope I can fit in to this exclusive place with its pretty communal gardens. Because I've risked everything to be here.

There's quite a lot going on in this book. It's complex, full of twists, intriguing, but the pace is slow at the beginning. But suddenly, the pace picks up and it's hard to put the book down. Sycamore Gardens has a new couple that's just moved in, but who are they and what is it they are hiding from? The story is split into two sections and each character told their own point of view. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed, so I took off half a star for that. This is a quick and easy to read story.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Bookouture and the author #AlisonJames for my ARC of #TheNewCouple in exchange for an honest review.

Stephanie and Richard Hamlin move into 12 Sycamore Gardens. A house in a wealthy suburb with a close nit community. The young couple are winners of a lottery, and the prize was the house. Jean Headley who lives at number 6, is curious to find out more about her new neighbours. But when she knocks on the door at number 12. She doesn’t get the welcome that she was expecting. The complete opposite in fact. But that doesn’t stop her wanting to find out more about the couple.
Thank you, Bookoutre for a copy of ‘The new couple by Alison James’. I have read most of Alison James’s book, so I was looking forward to reading this. This has an intriguing, unique storyline but I found this to be a slow burner of a story. and it didn’t pick up until halfway through the book. It had a solid storyline, but I didn’t much care for the characters, and I didn’t understand why the author kept going a repeating bit of the story again and again. 3.5 stars from me.

Mild spoiler: Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of The New Couple. What a great book! I am looking forward to reading more by this author. This story is told from 3 points of view. Jane is the new neighbor to Stephanie and Richard Hamlin, or so she thinks that is who they are. They won the house in her neighborhood in a lottery and moved in with their baby Poppy. Or did they? Seems like another couple got the idea that they could get rid of the Hamlins and take the house and their identities. And with no remorse whatsoever. I don't want to give too much away but I definitely recommend this wild ride. Check it out!

I really enjoyed this book. It's a very original story and the telling from different characters perspectives really added to the sense of anticipation as to how it would all work out (or not.)

The pace kept up throughout right through to the conclusion which nicely tied up all the thread and the different stories of the characters that are woven in the main storyline.

The New Couple by Alison James

This is the perfect page turner when you need something to keep you on the edge of your seat. The cover of the book is what truly sold me. That deep red door. The "The perfect marriage. The perfect house. The perfect secret..." SOLD!

The New Couple is set in a neighborhood of Sycamore Gardens in London. After an elderly couple sells their home, the entire neighborhood awaits its new owners.
When Richard and Stephanie Hamlin, along with their daughter Poppy, move in things start to feel off in the neighborhood.

I love the twists and turns, with the 3 pov's. Always keeps you guessing and having to pay attention to details. The book did seem to be a tab bit long but all in all I enjoyed.

story line: 4/5
character building 4/5
world building 5/5
writing style: 4.5/5
genre mystery & thrillers: 4/5
3 POVs: 3.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The New Couple by Alison James will be available on September 27, 2022, for purchase.

I know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I have a particular weakness when it comes to covers featuring the front door of a house. It’s just so enticing, isn’t it? Come inside, it seems to say, there’s so much for you to discover here. I simply can’t resist the temptation to find out what lies beyond that door… it’s an instant must-read for me. I can’t wait to cross over the threshold and step into the world the author has created!

It’s going to be very difficult to review this book without treading into spoiler territory, so much of what I have to say is going to be deliberately vague.

The New Couple is set in the affluent neighborhood of Sycamore Gardens in London. The elderly couple who used to live at #12 announced the were moving away to retire after being approached by a company that raffles off prestigious properties for charity. Several months later, the neighborhood is buzzing with the news that they will soon have new neighbors: Richard and Stephanie Hamlin, and their infant daughter Poppy. The residents are eager to welcome them to the neighborhood, but that eagerness quickly turns to puzzlement once the Hamlins arrive. They seem reluctant, if not completely unwilling, to meet everyone, and there are many seemingly insignificant things about them that just don’t add up. One resident can’t shake the feeling that something’s off about the Hamlins, and she’s determined to find out what it is.

Told from the perspectives of three characters spanning four parts, this story is a slow burn that gradually fills in missing details as the perspectives swap from one character to another. Rather than causing the story to feel repetitive when known events/conversations are inevitably rehashed, it instead gives the reader deeper insight into why the character(s) in question reacted the way they did in certain circumstances… turning what initially seemed inexplicable into something that was easily understood. It introduced tension to scenes where none existed previously, and seemingly innocuous statements were sometimes revealed to have much darker overtones.

I loved being able to see the story through three sets of eyes, and to know their inner thoughts about key events. It allowed me to have complete knowledge of everything that transpired, which made the story even more enjoyable for me.

To guard against potential spoilers, I’m not able to discuss what I most liked (or disliked) about the main characters. Suffice to say I found them all to be well written and interesting in one way or another. There are a few lesser characters that I wished had been featured more, but the story clearly demanded that they play a smaller role in the chain of events, so this shouldn’t be considered to be a complaint… if anything, it’s an indication of how appealing they were to me.

The ending was both expected and unexpected, to some degree. I can’t explain why. I can only say that the thing I expected had to happen in order to propel the story to its conclusion. It wasn’t convenient; it was logical and appropriate. As for the unexpected bits…. well, those were really something!

The New Couple is a well-written, compelling read, and I think readers of psychological thrillers will enjoy it as much as I did. Highly recommended!

This was a quick and twisty read, told from multiple POVs. The story centers on a couple named Stephanie and Richard who win a house in a nice London neighborhood through a lottery. They immediately don't fit in when they get there, and one of the neighbors named Jane becomes suspicious that all is not what it seems. The first part of the book is told primarily from Jane's POV. As the book continues, turns out that things are NOT what they seemed at all, and the reader is let into a scam related to the house. I love going into a book blind, so the surprise that was laid out in the synopsis was a surprise to me.

There were a lot of twiists and turns in this book and multiple people were doing bad things to each other (which I like, because you never know who is safe!). Though there are a lot of characters, it was not difficult to keep them all straight. Some of the characters were horrible people but some were more likable. There were a few areas where I had to suspend my disbelief a bit, like when Jane was able to find out more information than one would expect about her neighbors and almost everything that happened with the baby.

All in all, it was a good book that I enjoyed. I really didn't know how it was all going to end and that kept me reading late into the night. Looking forward to the next book by this author. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This could have been an overly convoluted plot but somehow the author managed to ensure that it wasn't. I loved the sections written by various characters, I was so stunned at the beginning of part two that I read the first chapter three times. Unfortunately where this book fell down and therefore lost a star was the extremely anticlimactic ending. It was a case of turning the page only to find that the book was finished. Having said that I have read and really enjoyed Alison James' work in the past and fully expect to do so again in the future.

This story gets you right from the start with the strange new couple movie into the very prestigious neighborhood. At first I wasn't sure how this story was going to go with the couple winning the house with a lottery. But it quickly picks up pace with Jane sensing that something isn't right with the new couple Stephanie and Richard.

There are twists and turns that keep you reading at a fast pace and the sinister plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. You think you have it figured out and then a new twists comes into play. I enjoyed getting the different perspectives of the main characters in this book.

I found the ending fitting and closed up all loose ends. Which I find that a lot of thrillers do not wrap everything up so tightly. I look forward to reading more books from this author and I can say she just gained a new avid reader to her stories!

I love the premise of the book, but it felt long and, at times, didn't fully captivate me. Overall, I'd give the book 7/10.

A quick, intense and twisty story centered around an exclusive neighborhood and the "new couple" who have moved in. There is great character development and lots of side stories keeping you engaged until the very end. Good read!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!